Whether you’re a religious person or not, you have your beliefs and wish for those beliefs to be respected. When your beliefs are attacked, it hits you hard, some harder than others. Hi, My name is Russell Ridenour. I’m a Baptist, and this is my opinion.Most people who know me know that I’ll respect your beliefs and opinions as long as you respect mine. When someone asks your opinion and they get mad because it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, it really makes one wonder if they truly wanted your opinion or not. Then they go on a two to three-day streak of not talking to you.
That is a ridiculous way to act toward someone who is supposed to be a friend. You’re just trying to help them out. When I give my opinion, I usually have a religious outlook on it. When my answers weren’t suited to what the person wanted, he blew up at me. Usually that’s when I can tell I hit someone dealing with the subject though. I’m one of those people who will give you my opinion on a subject if I have one.
Religion is a touchy subject with people. As I said before, I’m a Baptist, so my beliefs may be different from yours. I may not agree with some things that you take a stand on, but does that mean I don’t want to be your friend? No, it just simply means that I don’t believe the same as you on a subject.
Being a Baptist, I personally don’t believe in homosexual marriage. Do I have homosexual friends? Yes, I do, and they know where I stand. They respect that, so I respect their decision. That issue tends to be a big debate when the religion topic comes up. Some people who believe in homosexual marriage want to go off on you because you don’t see things their way. Did I go off on you when you asked me about it? No, I calmly stated my opinion and waited to hear a calm response.
I like to discuss some issues so people know where I stand on them and to see where they stand. Now when people read this, I may get flack from it, but this is how I believe, and I wish that to be respected. This probably seems like a rant to you, but it’s something I’ve experienced in the past, and I wanted my thoughts to be seen and read.
The point to all this is for you to see that even though someone doesn’t believe the same as you, it doesn’t mean you should not be friends with him or her. Their beliefs should be respected, and yours should too.
Don’t get mad at people because they don’t have the same beliefs as you. Try to be friends with them. You may be surprised at how nice and understanding they can be.
Stay classy, RWC.